EP0910919A1 - Variante de procede pour ensemble automatique de boitiers de raccordement - Google Patents

Variante de procede pour ensemble automatique de boitiers de raccordement

Info

Publication number
EP0910919A1
EP0910919A1 EP97934149A EP97934149A EP0910919A1 EP 0910919 A1 EP0910919 A1 EP 0910919A1 EP 97934149 A EP97934149 A EP 97934149A EP 97934149 A EP97934149 A EP 97934149A EP 0910919 A1 EP0910919 A1 EP 0910919A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
channel
tuner
tuned
detecting
television
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP97934149A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0910919A4 (fr
Inventor
Daniel S. Kwoh
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Index Systems LLC
Original Assignee
Index Systems LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Index Systems LLC filed Critical Index Systems LLC
Publication of EP0910919A1 publication Critical patent/EP0910919A1/fr
Publication of EP0910919A4 publication Critical patent/EP0910919A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N5/00—Details of television systems
    • H04N5/44—Receiver circuitry for the reception of television signals according to analogue transmission standards
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/4104—Peripherals receiving signals from specially adapted client devices
    • H04N21/4126—The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
    • H04N21/41265—The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N21/00—Selective content distribution, e.g. interactive television or video on demand [VOD]
    • H04N21/40—Client devices specifically adapted for the reception of or interaction with content, e.g. set-top-box [STB]; Operations thereof
    • H04N21/41—Structure of client; Structure of client peripherals
    • H04N21/422—Input-only peripherals, i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS]
    • H04N21/42204—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor
    • H04N21/42206—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor characterized by hardware details
    • H04N21/42225—User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor characterized by hardware details characterized by types of remote control, e.g. universal remote control
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N5/00—Details of television systems
    • H04N5/76—Television signal recording
    • H04N5/78—Television signal recording using magnetic recording
    • H04N5/782—Television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
    • H03J—TUNING RESONANT CIRCUITS; SELECTING RESONANT CIRCUITS
    • H03J9/00—Remote-control of tuned circuits; Combined remote-control of tuning and other functions, e.g. brightness, amplification
    • H03J9/06—Remote-control of tuned circuits; Combined remote-control of tuning and other functions, e.g. brightness, amplification using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. light

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the automatic programming of a control device to enable the control device to remotely control another device through infrared signals.
  • a universal remote is a device capable of remotely controlling multiple devices by using multiple infrared code sets.
  • One common example is a remote control which can remotely control a television as well as a video cassette recorder. Universal remotes achieve this functionality by being programmable.
  • the user can input various number codes to select which infrared code sets the remote control will use in controlling the devices.
  • An embodiment of the present invention is a method for programming a control device for selection, from a plurality of infrared (IR) code sets, an IR code set for subsequent control of IR signal communication with a video device such as a video cassette recorder (VCR).
  • a video device such as a video cassette recorder (VCR).
  • each IR code set is for communicating with a different corresponding VCR.
  • each such VCR has a tuner, which, when tuned to an actual channel of broadcast video signals, provides video signals derived from the actual channel to a video output thereof.
  • a predetermined series of signals is provided to the VCR using a selected IR code set, which is selected from one of the provided IR code sets.
  • the video output of the VCR is monitored for predetermined signal conditions.
  • An IR code set is then selected for subsequent signal communication with the VCR.
  • the IR code set which is selected is the one which results in the predetermined signal conditions.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 3 is a truth table illustrating the logical analysis employed by an embodiment of the invention.
  • the present invention describes a system for automatically selecting one IR code set which is appropriate for remotely controlling a particular video device, such as a cable box, from a plurality of IR code sets stored in, for example, a VCR.
  • the system sends a series of commands to the particular video device using a selected test IR code set and monitors the results of those commands by examining the video signal coming from the video device. These results are analyzed to determine if the test IR code set successfully controls the video device. If the test IR code set does not successfully control the video device, then the system cycles through all of the stored IR code sets as the test IR code set until an IR code set which successfully controls the video device is found.
  • FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of the present invention where a tuner 10 receives television signals from an outside source and outputs a video signal derived from the television signals on the channel to which the tuner 10 is set.
  • the tuner 10 can be set either manually by the user via input 12 or remotely via a receiver 14.
  • the video signal goes to a television display 16 and also to a XDS decoder 18.
  • XDS signals are transmitted by the broadcasting source in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) portion of the video signal and contain digital information, including information about the video signal in which they are contained.
  • the XDS decoder 18 filters the video signal from the tuner 10 so that an XDS signal is isolated, if present. By analyzing the XDS signal, the XDS decoder 18 can derive various information about the video signal such as the channel number or other channel identifier for the channel to which the tuner 10 is set. In alternative embodiments, VBI decoders that look at a different portions of the VBI for data signals other than XDS signals are used.
  • the VBI decoder is set to decode a portion of the video signal from which the channel number or channel identifier for the channel to which the tuner 10 is set can be derived.
  • Other embodiments may be employed that do not use a VBI decoder, as long the controller 20 is able to receive information identifying the channel to which the tuner 10 is tuned at a particular time.
  • the XDS decoder 18 sends the XDS signal information to a controller 20.
  • the controller 20 sends the XDS signal information to a controller 20.
  • the controller 20 is connected to memory 22 in which it can store XDS signal information, comparison results, or any other information.
  • the controller 20 is also connected to storage 24 from which it can access previously stored IR code sets.
  • Storage 24 can be any data .storage device, but preferably is a ROM or other non-volatile memory.
  • the controller can cause an emitter 26 to send appropriate IR signals to the receiver 14 in order to remotely control the tuner 10.
  • the controller 20 sends several commands to the tuner 10 and stores the results in the memory 22. After storing various XDS signals and comparison results in the memory 22, the controller analyzes this information to determine whether the current IR code set is the IR code set which is the correct set to remotely control the tuner 10. This allows the controller to automatically select the correct IR code set for remotely controlling the tuner 10.
  • the system can determine the correct IR code set for remote control of the video device using a series of operations such as those described below and shown in FIG. 2.
  • the user manually inputs a predetermined channel into the tuner 10 via the input 12.
  • This channel is the "Base Channel.”
  • the Base Channel must be a channel which is identifiable by the controller, such as one which contains an XDS signal in the VBI.
  • the channel for the Public Broadcast Station (PBS) in the user's area is a preferred choice for the Base Channel because PBS stations presently broadcast an XDS signal in the VBI throughout the country.
  • PBS Public Broadcast Station
  • the controller then retrieves the first test IR code set to test from the storage 24.
  • the controller 20 uses the XDS decoder 18, in block 105, the controller 20 then determines the XDS signal information of the current video signal, which is the Base Channel, and stores the information in the memory 22. This is the "Base Signal.”
  • the controller then sends, in block 115, via the emitter 26, to the receiver 14, an IR signal which is appropriate to the current test IR code set to set the channel of the timer 10 to some predetermined channel. This predetermined channel is the "Test Channel.”
  • the controller 20 determines the XDS signal information of the current channel and stores this in the memory 22. This result is "Testl .”
  • the controller 20 compares Testl to the Base Signal. If they are different, meaning the channel of the tuner 10 was successfully changed, then the current IR code set is the correct set. If Testl and the Base Signal are the same as is discussed in more detail below, the analysis must continue. The result of the comparison of Testl to the Base Signal is stored in the memory 22.
  • the controller 20, in block 120 then sends via the emitter 26 to the receiver 14 an IR signal appropriate to the current IR code set to increment the channel of the tuner 10.
  • the controller 20 determines the XDS signal information of the current channel and stores the information in the memory 22. This result is "Test2.” The controller 20 then compares Test2 to the Base Signal and stores the result of this comparison in the memory 22. This result is "Result2.” Similar to Resultl and as discussed below, Result2 is not determinative of whether the current test IR code set is the correct code set, either.
  • the controller 20 then sends via the emitter 26 to the receiver 14 an
  • the controller 20 determines the XDS signal information of the current channel and stores this in the memory 22. This result is "Test3.” The controller 20 then compares Test3 to the Base Signal and stores the result in the memory 22. This result is "Result3.” Now, the combination of Resultl, Result2 and Result3, as explained below, is determinative of whether the current test IR code set is the correct code set.
  • the controller analyzes the results of the three comparisons, between Testl and the Base Signal (Resultl), Test2 and the Base Signal (Result2), and Test3 and the Base Signal (Result3).
  • Resultl Testl and the Base Signal
  • Result2 Test2 and the Base Signal
  • Result3 Test3 and the Base Signal
  • Result3 Test3 and the Base Signal
  • the controller 20 will reset the tuner 10 to the Base Channel if necessary. If the tuner 10 was successfully incremented but the IR code set was not correct (CASE 3 or CASE 6 in FIG. 3), then the tuner 10 is set to some channel other than the Base Channel. To set the tuner 10 to the Base Channel the controller 20 sends via the emitter 26 to the receiver 14 an IR signal which will decrement the channel to which the tuner 10 is set. This will return the tuner 10 to the Base Channel.
  • the No path from block 135 is then taken and the controller 20 will return to block 110 and select the next IR code set from the storage 24.
  • the controller 20 will then begin the process again by using the XDS decoder 18 to determine the XDS of the current channel, now the Base Channel once again, and store this in the memory 22 as the Base Signal.
  • the process continues from that point as before, storing Testl, Test2, Test3, Resultl , Result2, and Result3 to determine if the new IR code set is the correct IR code set.
  • FIG. 3 depicts a Truth Table showing the logical analysis used in the present invention.
  • CASE 1 is where the Base Channel and the Test Channel are the same and the IR code set is the correct IR code set.
  • CASE 2 is where the Base Channel and the Test Channel are the same, but the IR code set is incorrect for the video device and none of the commands are functional.
  • CASE 3 is where the Base Channel and the Test Channel are the same, the IR code set is incorrect, but the "channel up" command is still functional.
  • CASE 4 is where the Base Chaimel and the Test Channel are different and the IR code set is the correct IR code set.
  • CASE 5 is where the Base Channel and the Test Channel are different, the IR code set is incorrect for the video device and none of the commands are functional.
  • CASE 6 is where the Base Channel and the Test Channel are different, the IR code set is incorrect, but the "channel up" command is still functional.
  • the two cases where the IR code set is correct for this video device (CASE 1 and CASE 4) can be determined.
  • CASE 1 CASE 3
  • CASE 6 CASE 6
  • the final step is to send the signal to set the channel to the Test Channel again. If the channel of the tuner 10 is successfully set to the Test Channel and the channel of the tuner 10 was previously successfully incremented, that is Test2 and the Base Signal were different and Test3 and the Base Signal were the same, then the current IR code set is the correct set for this video device. The results of each of these comparisons, Testl to Base Signal, Test2 to Base Signal,
  • Test3 to Base Signal (also stored as Resultl, Result2, Result3), are necessary, except in CASE 4.
  • CASE 2 and CASE 5 the channel of the tuner 10 will never change because the IR code set is completely incompatible with the video device.
  • the comparison of Testl to the Base Signal will indicate that they are the same and the comparison of Test3 to the Base Signal will indicated that they are the same.
  • the comparison of Test2 to the Base Signal is necessary. In CASE 1, Test2 and the Base Signal are different, while in CASE 2 and CASE 5, Test2 and the Base Signal are the same.
  • CASE 1, CASE 3, and CASE 6 have the same results from the first two tests (Testl and the Base Signal are the same, Test2 and Base Signal are different).
  • a final "set channel” command is necessary.
  • the channel will be successfully returned to the Base Channel (Test3 is the same as Base Signal), while in CASE 3 and CASE 6, the channel will not change (so Test3 remains different from Base Signal) because the "set channel” command does not work.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Details Of Television Systems (AREA)
  • Testing, Inspecting, Measuring Of Stereoscopic Televisions And Televisions (AREA)

Abstract

Cette invention concerne une unité de commande de syntoniseur de télévision (10), laquelle unité possède une mémoire (22) qui comprend plusieurs ensembles de codes de commande à distance servant à commander un syntoniseur de télévision (10), par exemple, un boîtier de raccordement. Le syntoniseur de télévision va modifier le canal qu'il est en train d'ajuster en un canal spécifique, ceci au moment où il reçoit une instruction de commande à distance de canal établi permettant d'identifier le canal spécifique. L'unité de commande du syntoniseur (10) est capable de détecter le canal réglé par le syntoniseur (10) dès la syntonisation par le récepteur de télévision (14) d'un canal de base prédéterminé.
EP97934149A 1996-07-09 1997-07-09 Variante de procede pour ensemble automatique de boitiers de raccordement Withdrawn EP0910919A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US2271996P 1996-07-09 1996-07-09
US22719P 1996-07-09
PCT/US1997/012261 WO1998001993A1 (fr) 1996-07-09 1997-07-09 Variante de procede pour ensemble automatique de boitiers de raccordement

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0910919A1 true EP0910919A1 (fr) 1999-04-28
EP0910919A4 EP0910919A4 (fr) 1999-06-23

Family

ID=21811083

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP97934149A Withdrawn EP0910919A4 (fr) 1996-07-09 1997-07-09 Variante de procede pour ensemble automatique de boitiers de raccordement

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0910919A4 (fr)
CN (1) CN1123213C (fr)
AU (1) AU3727497A (fr)
CA (1) CA2260249A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO1998001993A1 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN1457576B (zh) * 2001-03-06 2010-05-12 松下电器产业株式会社 通信终端容纳设备、通信终端设备和无线通信系统

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE19829022A1 (de) * 1998-06-30 2000-01-05 Thomson Brandt Gmbh Verfahren zum Ansteuern eines Satellitenempfängers

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1995011568A1 (fr) * 1993-10-20 1995-04-27 Mankovitz Roy J Appareil d'etablissement d'un guide sur ecran pour television
WO1996041472A1 (fr) * 1995-06-07 1996-12-19 Starsight Telecast Incorporated Systeme de television avec possibilite de telechargement

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5373330A (en) * 1993-01-19 1994-12-13 Smart Vcr Limited Partnership Remote-controlled VCR using an associated TV for audible feedback
US5365282A (en) * 1993-01-19 1994-11-15 Smart Vcr Limited Partnership Television system module with remote control code determination

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1995011568A1 (fr) * 1993-10-20 1995-04-27 Mankovitz Roy J Appareil d'etablissement d'un guide sur ecran pour television
WO1996041472A1 (fr) * 1995-06-07 1996-12-19 Starsight Telecast Incorporated Systeme de television avec possibilite de telechargement

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See also references of WO9801993A1 *

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN1457576B (zh) * 2001-03-06 2010-05-12 松下电器产业株式会社 通信终端容纳设备、通信终端设备和无线通信系统

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CN1123213C (zh) 2003-10-01
WO1998001993A1 (fr) 1998-01-15
CN1227692A (zh) 1999-09-01
CA2260249A1 (fr) 1998-01-15
AU3727497A (en) 1998-02-02
EP0910919A4 (fr) 1999-06-23

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